Thousand Moon: Shri. Sharad Moreshwar Phatak 82+
Contributed By: Rohini
I met Shri. Sharad Phatak on a pre-monsoon hot
summer afternoon in Mumbai. The grandchildren were summoned by their mother to
listen and learn from their grandpa’s musings. Shri. Shard Phatak, generally a
man of few words with a ravishing smile was quite pleased to share his
experiences with me.
Shri. Sharad Phatak an electrical aircraft
maintenance expert, a voracious reader and a skilled swimmer hails from the
small town of Dahanu about 90 KMs from Mumbai. He was raised along with his
four brothers and a sister by his father who was an art teacher. Early demise
of his mother taught all his siblings dignity of labor and value of doing all
the household chores. Upon his mother’s insistence his eldest brother was
enrolled in medical school but all other children did not have the luxury of
higher education.
After passing high school Shri. Sharad Phatak
joined the Indian Air Force in the Technical Apprentice program where he
received Aircraft Electrical maintenance training in return for 15 years of
service. He chuckled when he mentioned that he has been a pensioner for much
longer than the actual service he rendered to the AF. He fondly reminisced over
the two years of training with the AF in Bangalore and stopped short of saying
that that was the best period of his life. He credits the AF for making him a
disciplined, organized, and meticulous individual. During the initial training
phase there was an outbreak of measles on the campus which proved to be a boon
in disguisesince his entire class was sent to Mysore for sightseeing.
He mentioned that there never is peace on the
border. AF wives have to deal with many a difficulties and that is the primary
reason why few people want to marry their daughters to AF men. When he married
Kumud, his wife he told her that he would be done with the AF in six years and would
take up a civilian job. Another important reason why she agreed to marry him was
because an astrologer once had told her that her future husband would work on
aircrafts!
He got an opportunity to travel to Russia for
training where he learned to ski. Also was posted at Pangong Lake for a while.
He vividly recollects his flight to Russia which extended to three days rather
than the usual one.On the first leg a child got sick and the aircraft had to
make an emergency landing at Lahore. When they took off again one of the
engines failed and they had to return to Delhi. The third try was successful
and the reached Russia!
Retirement from Airforce lead to a job with
Indian Airlines that enabled him to travel extensively within the country and
outside. He has visited Bangkok, Singapore, Delhi, Gwalior, Agra, Bhopal
Ujjain, Hyderabad, and Andaman.
His last remark as we wrapped up our
conversation was, “My wanderlust has been quenched!!”
